Hajradinovic conceded a penalty after a poor challenge in the match against Stromsgodset and was harangued by Per Kristian Bratveit on the pitch as a result. He reacted by first pushing the goalkeeper, then exchanged words before eventually shoving him in the head.

The referee Ken Johnsen immediately consulted with his assistant before sending the Bosnian off. To make matter worse for Hajradinovic, his initial foul was shown by television replays to be outside the area. Bratveit subsequently saved the penalty but Haugesund still lost 2-0.

Haris Hajradinovic was sent off for pushing his own goalkeeper in the face.

“I’ll look at what happened again, but I’ve talked to the players. There is a lot of passion in football. But we must become better and more disciplined. It should never happen again,” said the Haugesund manager Dempsey, a former Manchester United, Sheffield United and Rotherham United midfielder who worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde and Cardiff City. Dempsey added that Hajradinovic and Bratveit had made up in the dressing room.

“He started pushing me and I pushed him back. I did not hit him in the face. It was nothing,” Hajradinovic told Norwegian television station TV2 immediately after the incident.

Haugesund do have disciplinary issues this season. Three matches into the league, the club have already chalked up two red cards and 11 yellows.